"Dear" John's Meatloaf

As an avid reader of Nicholas Sparks novels (and watcher of their movie adaptations), I just had to include one of his novels in my blog. 

Dear John is a story about a soldier from South Carolina (a state that will always have a special place in my heart) who falls in love with a girl (Savannah) while on a two week leave. Theirs is a tale of how the heart can open so quickly. When John must return over seas (he can't tell her where...top secret stuff, I guess!) for his last tour they decide to correspond by letter and it appears that they will be able to make it for the long haul. But things can't be that easy. Just before his tour ends, 9/11 rocks the United States and John feels he must re-enlist to serve his country. As you can imagine, this has a rather damaging effect on their relationship and Savannah eventually stops corresponding with John and soon meets someone else. Its really quite sad. Another aspect of the story is John's fractured family life. He only has his father left and that is a rather strained relationship. 

But John's father, a reclusive man, who may or may not have a form of autism or obsessive compulsive disorder, does have a lot to do with food. He cooks all of his meals, but the unique part is that he schedules each of his meals each week....not new meals each week, but the same meal on the same day of the week...a bit of a 50's throwback! On Saturdays he always prepares meatloaf (on Sundays he prepares lasagna but we've already covered that a few weeks ago). So guess where this is going!!

Well, I started looking into meatloaf...the food not the singer, although I do love Paradise by the Dashboard Light....moving on.... Meatloaf is a humble and simple meal, but is also delicious and nostalgic (although I must admit, that for me, I do not remember my mother making meatloaf - she says she did....I wonder who is right!). 

Meatloaf is a dish of ground meat that is formed into a loaf and then baked or smoked and is usually made with ground beef, although sometimes people use lamb, pork, veal, venison, poultry or a combination of any of those. In the Great Depression, cooking meatloaf was a way for families to stretch the food budget by using inexpensive cuts of meat, grains, leftovers and some spices. 

Meatloaf has European origins and is a traditional German and Belgian dish. It is a cousin to the Dutch meatball. American meatloaf has its origin in scrapple, a mixture of ground pork ad cornmeal which was served by German-Americans since Colonial times. But meatloaf did not make its way into American cookbooks until the late 19th century. Meatloaf is very popular throughout many countries and a multitude of variations exist, often involving hard-boiled eggs. It is so popular in the States though, that in 2007 it was voted American's 7th favourite dish (Thanksgiving dinner is #1...figured someone would ask!). 

And now for the recipe. Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients: 

1 lb ground beef
1 to 2 tbsp horseradish
2 tbsp ketchup or chili sauce
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
6 slices bacon, diced
2 cups chopped onions
1/2 cup thinly sliced sautéed mushrooms
1 1/4 cup cracker crumbs, divided
1 large egg
1/2 cup stock or broth

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. 

Combine in a large bowl ground beef, horseradish, ketchup or chili sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, black pepper, bacon, onions, sautéed mushrooms 1 cup cracker crumbs and the egg. Mix with your hands until well blended. Shape into a loaf and roll in remaining cracker crumbs. Place in loaf pan and pour in stock or broth. 

Bake, basting occasionally, until meat loaf is firm to the touch or a thermometer inserted in the centre reads  160F, about an hour. Serve with gravy or ketchup. 

If you have left overs, like we usually do, a meatloaf sandwich on thick homemade or rustic bread is a always a good way to use it up. 

Enjoy your meal!

P.S. No photos this week. Meatloaf is delicious but not the most photogenic of meals!